12.25.2011

Another Saturday a few weeks ago at the farmers market. The weather was warm. Making it especially nice to linger. So I did.

And this Saturday there was something else that made me want to linger a little longer. A three woman string band. The music was soft and almost mystical. There were soft notes riding the sunlight on a breeze through the trees. Sweet.

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Aldous Huxley, Music at Night and Other Essays

12.17.2011

I went to the flea market this morning on a quest to find Santa. But I didn't find him. I showed the photo, inquired. Felt like Nancy Drew sleuthing about. I did talk to Norma and Sandy in the front office and had a nice lead. Norma said she remembers him, but his name escapes her. So, I am to call her back.

But, I did get a couple of photos from the market.

"I bottle emotions and place them into the sea for others to unbottle on distant shores..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Saul Williams

12.01.2011

You really never know what you will see at this yard sale. Jars of marbles. Vintage dresses. Galvanized watering cans full of lavender. Pink ribbons. Red framed mirrors. Blue enamel tea pots. Old suitcases. Furniture with so much character that you swear it is talking to you. Leopard print lampshades. A child's smocked dress...the list goes on and on.

A feast for the eyes and the imagination.

"Keeping up the appearance of having all your marbles is hard work, but important."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants

11.29.2011

"... padding along a trail where other walkers had broken ground before me. And then I found an extraordinary bouquet."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Mary Rose O'Reilley, The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd

9.25.2011

We took a little 4 day trip to Illinois for a very sweet wedding for our good friends, Daniel and Nikki. I was able to take a few photos and here are some of my favorites once again in chronological order. I'm liking chronological order. It's makes so much sense...

9.08.2011

I'm getting a folder full of beach pictures. So, since I've finished the VACA2011 series, I decided to sneak in a little beach post before the next trip. Which, is going to happen tomorrow. Yes, another trip. Back to the homeland. Illinois for a wedding. Get ready for some cornfield pictures!!

8.30.2011

This is too funny. D said, with a little hesitation, that I'm up to Part 10 of VACA 2011. Like that is a bad thing. Does he not notice that Part 10 was day two of our VACA? I still have the rest of day two and day three. And, if he had truly been paying attention, he would know that it is all in chronological order! So. Dear. Bear with me through the rest of VACA 2011!! Off to the rest of day two.

I forgot to mention on the last post, that we lunched at Bud & Alley's on the beach. It was soooo good! Those crab cakes. Just when I thought they couldn't come close to the ones we had at the Red Bar, they did.

This was our view from the upstairs dining area where we enjoyed lunch.

8.26.2011

After eating that fantastic dinner at the Red Bar, we went back to Seaside for the evening. There was a movie in the park which we were going to watch. We picked our place in the park and I walked around a bit to take some pictures.

This is such an interesting building. I have always liked the doors. And the burnt orange color wall color is so eye catching.

8.24.2011

After getting acquainted with our new surroundings we headed to Seaside. And we mosied around.

I always love the line of Airstream vendor trailers. #1 I have a huge love for food from a trailer. My reasoning: if you have something really good and you feel you have to take it to the streets, it has to be awesome. #2 I have often played with the idea of my own rolling food trailer...home-made burritos. Right down to home-made refried beans and hand rolled tortillas. But. I digress.

8.23.2011

The Library. Or common area. It had a couple of old rattan chairs with funky zebra covers. There was a wall of glass cabinets holding the book collection and CD's. I found out later that the extra toilet paper was in the cabinets below...sorta self serve. A really nice old piano was against one wall with some sort of homage to elephants on top of it. A sign on the piano read: Don't play the piano before 9AM or after 9PM. I think it disturbs the elephants.

Here is an overall view of that room with the cabinets of books, the chess table and the rattan chairs. Note the floor...the painted green was the flavor of the day. The stairway led downstairs to the dining room.

8.22.2011

Up in the library was a little nook. Complete with two rattan chairs dressed in zebra print and polka dots. The arms were painted forest green. They were beside a window facing the North. I enjoyed those chairs a couple of times.

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Mark Twain

8.21.2011

We stayed at the Hibiscus Coffee and Guesthouse in Grayton Beach. I really don't know where to begin with this place. Retro without trying. We described it as Florida Kitschy. The Urban Dictionary defines kitschy as so tacky or lame that it has a certain ironic appeal. That really sums it up. D said that a younger him would have turned around and walked out. The new more enlightened him just enjoyed it for what it was.

I said it was like a cross between staying at my Aunt Effie's and Grandma's house. I think the Hibiscus Coffee and Guesthouse was channeling my Aunt Effie. She was a trend setter.

It was not about pampering. None of that nonsense. That where the similarities to my Grandma came in. She was old school German. No pampering there either. And definitely no nonsense. (But she had a warm and loving heart.)

I'm not even sure if it was about clean. It was what it was. And they served a good breakfast. Don't be misled by "Coffee" in their name. This was not a coffee house coffee...more like a truck stop coffee. But, I don't judge. It was coffee.

As soon as we got in I started to take pictures of our room.

There was a matching one on the other side of the bed. (Do you see that bedspread? circa 1950.)

8.20.2011

We took a little vacation before D has to go back to school. This is his week between classes, so we went to Grayton Beach. I'm going to post the pictures that I took...as I took them. So it will be planned randomness. A photo journal of our vacation in a timeline. Exciting!

Grayton Beach is, in the scheme of things, relatively close to us. Perfect. Not a long drive. And beautiful. Also close to Seaside. It all works in our favor.

First stop was en route to our lodgings. It was a little area by the road with a beautiful view of an inlet. We had always wanted to stop. This time we did.

7.25.2011

This little farmers market is really blossoming! Each time I go there are more people, more booths. More fun. Obviously, from my first photo, some of them were taken on Mother's Day. I so loved the little chair with all the pink flowers.

7.20.2011

We stopped at a little cafe which happened to be a bed and breakfast in Grayton Beach...Hibiscus Coffee & Guesthouse. Loved this little place so much that I believe we are going back next month to spend a weekend there! I'm so excited!! So, here is a preview of what I fell in love with.

"...and what appeared to be a stormy sea transformed into a bright bouquet ..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Peter Lerangis (The Sword Thief)

7.09.2011

The trip to Seaside was so much more to me this time than 'the beach'. Somehow cloth, texture, tactile...all worked into my feelings during the visit. I saw beautiful racks of clothing. Folds of material. Baskets full of twisted, colorful scarves. Shelves holding seashells and blue glass jars. Warm rows of hand crafted pottery. Baskets of candles. Wooden boxes overflowing with metal stars. It was all warm, comforting. So in this Seaside series, Off to Seaside We Go, you will see evidence of this.

The light and sheerness of this rack of blouses whispered to me. I was in awe.

"Today's woman likes to have a hint of lace showing under a white blouse..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Barbara Lipton